Zwinak makes most of his opportunity

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - When Zach Zwinak suffered a torn ACL in his knee two years ago, he held the slimmest of hope for a day like he had Saturday.

"You always wait for that opportunity," Zwinak said. "Whether you get it or not you always have to be ready. You never know what's going to happen."

Zwinak, buried on the Penn State depth chart when the season began, carried 19 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs, in a 35-7 blowout win over Illinois at Memorial Stadium.

"This is like every kid's dream," he said.

The 6-1, 232-pound Zwinak, a redshirt sophomore from Frederick, Md., was coming off a strong outing against Temple last week when he ran 18 times for 94 yards.

"Zach's a tough runner," quarterback Matt McGloin said. "He's a big kid. He's not going to go down very easily. He understands that a 4- or 5-yard gain is a good thing. He's not trying to break everything for a 50-yard touchdown."

Zwinak moved up the depth chart because of injuries to Bill Belton, Derek Day and Michael Zordich and because of Silas Redd's transfer to USC. He's just glad he's getting a chance.

"It's Division I college football," he said. "Who wouldn't be happy to be out there? Whether it was one play to block or one play to run, all that matters is getting out on the field and helping my team win."

•More motivation for Lions: Cornerback Stephon Morris carried an Illinois football poster out of the Penn State locker room Saturday and displayed it proudly.

It purportedly was signed by Illinois wide receivers.

"I found this in my locker room, saying I was going to be occupied all day," Morris said. "It was more motivation."

Morris and his teammates already were motivated after Illinois coaches traveled to State College in July to recruit Penn State players in the wake of the NCAA sanctions.

The Lions limited Illinois to a season-low 74 rushing yards and few big plays in the passing game.

"We knew all the circumstances coming into this game," Morris said. "We were just amped to play Illinois. They just happened to be in our way at the wrong time."

•Big day for Lehman: Penn State tight end Matt Lehman enjoyed the best game of his career, catching five passes for 70 yards and one touchdown.

He caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Matt McGloin near the end of the first half and was drilled by safety Earnest Thomas, who was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit.

"I didn't know he was ejected," Lehman said. "I went over to the sideline because I needed to sit down. I got a little fuzzy with my vision. It came back at halftime."

At least one of his teammates called it a cheap shot.

"I don't know," Lehman said. "I don't hold anything against the kid."

•Injury report: Penn State safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong was carted off the field after he appeared to suffer a leg injury on the second-half kickoff. He did not return to action.